An international team of astronomers has discovered two gigantic black holes with masses about 10 billion times the mass of our sun. These black holes have a mass more than 50 percent greater than any other previously measured. …

A transparent sensor that is so stretchy it can be pulled to twice its original length and then bounce back perfectly has potential for use with prosthetic limbs, robotics, and touch-sensitive computer displays.…

A new equation is the first to predict the hydrophobic interactions of molecules. Such interactions explain why oil and water don’t mix, how proteins are structured, and what holds biological membranes together. The new formula is expected to affect applications in water filtration, membrane separations, biomedical research, gene therapy methods, biofuel production, and food chemistry.…

Astronomers have uncovered some striking features in the gases emitted from the regions close to one of the brightest supermassive black holes known to exist. The black hole has a mass 300 million times that of the sun. …

A new algorithm suggests there is information lurking in images that cameras have yet to tap. Like a camera, the human eye has an auto-focusing system, but human auto-focusing rarely makes mistakes. And unlike a camera, humans do not require trial and error to focus an object. …

At any given time there are somewhere in the neighborhood of 22,000 pieces of debris 10 centimeters or larger zipping along in orbit at speeds of seven kilometers per second, according to the U.S. Air Force. But Sigrid Close, an assistant professor of aeronautics and astronautics at Stanford University, says billions of very tiny meteoroids do more damage to satellites and other spacecraft than all the space junk orbiting Earth. …

Micro devices implanted inside tumors to generate oxygen boost the cancer-killing power of radiation and chemotherapy. The technology is designed to treat solid tumors that are hypoxic at the center, meaning the core contains low oxygen levels. …